Dear God, Send Help Fast!

A religious man sat on his roof during a huge flood. A man in a boat rowed by and yelled “get in!”

The religious man shook his head. “No, I have faith in God. He’ll send me a miracle.”

When the water was to his waist, another boat came along. “Get in!”

“No. I have faith in God.”

When the water is up to his chest, another boat comes by but still, he refuses to get in because he knows God will send him a miracle.

As the water reaches his head, he hears the thump of a helicopter. They throw down a ladder but he won’t climb in, still waiting for God.

The man drowns and when he sees St. Peter, he starts complaining. “Why didn’t God send me a miracle!?”

St. Peter shakes his head. “Why are you fussing? He sent three boats and a helicopter. What more do you want?”

What made me think of this was a request that I got last weekend. Our church hosted an event for Presbytery and one of the organizers asked some of us to bake a dessert and bring it in. She had already purchased the mixes and added a card with directions (when and where to drop off).

“Can you do this for me?” she asked as she handed me a lemon cake mix.

“No, this is deadline week but I’ll see if Dan or Jared can help.”

I’ve never seen someone snatch back a mix so quickly. She wasn’t about to let my son or husband help in spite of the number of mixes she was still carting around. Apparently, she doesn’t know who makes most of our fudge and cookie dough at Christmas.

But it made me think. I’ve got a work load right now that while a blessing is also heavy duty. It means that I need help with things around the house, things that I normally do myself. When I pray to God for the assistance I need from my family, it will help if I haven’t already made up my mind exactly what form that help will take. That mindset will leave me cradling an arm load of mixes as the flood waters rise.